Self-Management, The Way Forward

Annabelle was learning fast. Sandy her NLP coach had helped her transform out of a bad relationship and she was ready to learn self management skills so she could be independent.
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The more reliance on self, the faster she would achieve what she wanted. The more she depended on others, the less control she would have on her outcomes.

Annabelle was learning fast. Sandy her NLP coach had helped her transform out of a bad relationship and she was ready to learn self management skills so she could be independent.

​The more reliance on self, the faster she would achieve what she wanted. The more she depended on others, the less control she would have on her outcomes.

Since the Pandemic hit, more and more employees were realising the importance of this as work from home became a norm. Adaptability to a new landscape rose to the top of the list as people realised they had to be prepared for all types of scenarios. Their mind muscle needed to flex. Rigidity was a think of the past, a luxury.

Sandy shared her personal journey with Annabelle. One of her biggest takeaways from her very profound father was to be proficient in whatever she chose that to do.

Sandy was groomed to self manage from a young age. She learnt to do as many things as possible, that she had an interest in. This ranged from cooking and baking which she learnt from her mother, to driving skills at a later age.


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This augured well as she moved into corporate life. Her boss too reinforced self-management at work. He prodded Sandy to do whatever was given to her whether it was her job or not, with the ultimate aim of learning as much as she could.

This did not allow for laziness or blame. Self-management at work pushed her forward in her career, as answers that were sought by senior management often rested with her. She became a “reliable person” in the eyes of bosses, someone to turn to. Sandy had unknowingly installed a sense of deep accountability and they felt safe with her, knowing the job would be done.

One aspect of acquiring self-management skills that made it easy on Sandy was to do personal growth courses. She knew that would fast track her learning while giving her the opportunity to pick up structure from experts.

Having increased in importance in the workplace, she had to manage time even more effectively, make quick and good decisions, drive teams to high performance and heighten her leadership capabilities.   ​Today, Sandy encapsulated self-management in the four pillars below:


Confidence, initiative and enthusiasm

• A person who is able to strive from these states of mind naturally is someone who will easily self manage.
• It isn’t forced upon someone. It is something that the person wants to do of his own accord, whether it be out of pride for the job or a desire to progress in the company.

Accountability and responsibility

• How is it some people have this and others have a laissez faire attitude to it? Attending an NLP for self management course helped Sandy gain a better understanding of values that drove her. If accountability and responsibility were not a priority in a person’s life they would be displaying other behaviours more important to them.
• One size does not fit all. There is no right or wrong. It is for each individual to assess values that are important to them.

Time efficient

• Time efficiency is one of the strongest pillars of success. Sandy had observed over the years that people who manage time well had far greater appreciation for self management at work and home.
• If time management is an issue Sandy advised her clients to attend an NLP for self management course where time is managed efficiently by simply acquainting with your timeline.

Understanding balance

• The art of balancing self management and still be part of a team and organisation, is also important. Being totally adept at self management at work must be coupled with awareness of how you are relating to your environment.
• Striking a balance between delegating work and doing some yourself is an art in itself. A perennial problem that managers face at work as most prefer to avoid delegating.

Today Sandy stressed if you are managing a team, one of the greatest skills you could mentor your people in is to make them independent of their manager. Sandy was eternally grateful to her boss for teaching her these skills at the start of her career. This helped her fast track progression through her career path.
Coupled with the NLP Practitioner course where she learnt how to manage her state of mind. She could access calm and confidence in the most chaotic times. No wonder she cruised through the Pandemic while many suffered, not knowing the way forward.
Sandy also became intimately aware of her timeline in every instance. When to pull it in and meet stringent deadlines or relax her timeline when on vacation. She understood her values, prioritised them and was driven by them. It was great to see the difference when she did not know how her unconscious mind drove her.
Like a life skills jigsaw puzzle Sandy learnt where each piece of self management fit into her life. When she ran into trouble she knew where the problem was and how to fix it. Just like a car mechanic, she was able to diagnose the problem and fix it.
It was the same for everyone in every context. Whether managing children or a team, it is fundamental to teach them self management skills. Over-protection hindered their mind muscle from development.
Rather, throwing them into the deep end had so much more value because believe it or not, people have all the resources they need. They just have to dig deep and learn how to access them.


Sylvia Fernandes is the Founder & CEO of VIA Frontiers. She is a Master Trainer of NLP who is specialised in corporate applications.
She started her business in Sydney in 2002 and has been operating in the Asia Pacific Region ever since. She is currently based in Singapore.
She is also the author of Bye Bye Black Cat -- Turn Your Luck Around and Realise Opportunities. Visit VIA Frontiers for more information.

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